Philip of Spain (15 March 1720 – 18 July 1765) was Infante of Spain by birth, and Duke of Parma from 1748 to 1765. He founded the House of Bourbon-Parma, a cadet line of the Spanish branch of the dynasty. He was a son-in-law of Louis XV.

Life

He was raised in Madrid and as a child showed more interest in art than in politics. He was also the 12th Count of Chinchón and Grandee of Spain First Class with a coat of arms of Bourbon after the alienation with royal authorization in 1738 of the 11th Count of Chinchón, Don Jose Sforza-Cesarini, Duke of Canzano, a title he later ceded to his brother Louis in 1754.

His mother came from the family of Farnese, which had ruled the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla for many generations. The duchy had been ruled between 1731 and 1736 by his elder brother Charles, but was exchanged with Austria for The Two Sicilies after the War of Polish Succession. Twelve years later, in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Austria lost the duchy and Philip became the new duke, founding the House of Bourbon-Parma.

As part of the Treaty of Versailles (1757) between Austria and France, it was intended that Phillip would become king of the Southern Netherlands in a deal that would see French troops occupy key positions in the country – however this arrangement was repudiated by the subsequent Third Treaty of Versailles and Phillip continued in Parma.

The Duchy of Parma was ruined by many years of warfare, and in 1759 Philip named the able Frenchman Guillaume du Tillot as his minister to restore the economy. Philip was an enlightened ruler who stimulated education and philosophy, attracting personalities like Étienne Bonnot de Condillac.

Marriage

Philip married his first cousin once removed Princess Louise Élisabeth of France in Alcalá de Henares, Spain on 25 October 1739. They had the following children:

Their marriage was an unhappy one, and Louise Elisabeth died of smallpox at the age of 32 in 1759. Philip died unexpectedly on 18 July 1765 in Alessandria, Italy, after having accompanied his daughter Maria Luisa on her way to Genoa, where she sailed for Spain to marry Infante Charles. Through Philip's daughter Maria Luisa, he is an ancestor of the Bourbons of Spain, the Bourbons of the Two Sicilies, and the House of Orléans.